NL East Notes: Werth, K-Rod, Phillies, Nationals

Some notes from the NL East as MLBPA leader Michael Weiner meets with the Mets in Florida…

Jayson Werth told Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he accepted the Nationals' seven-year, $126MM offer partly because he wanted to help his fellow players. "I think once you get to free agency, you're in a big pool of players and we all really play in one organization and that's MLB," Werth said. "I guess that's how you look at it, so in that respect I was trying to maximize things and also trying to get into a situation I wanted to be in and I think Philly was going in a different direction."

Brookover points out that "guaranteed money does not mean guaranteed success or perfect health," though the Phillies' investment in Lee was understandable.

Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com that he hopes first overall draft pick Bryce Harper finds out how Spring Training works and learns "what it takes to be a big leaguer" in Nationals camp this year.

They actually have to pay him a little over $1 million a year starting this year and every year through 2035. They owed him $6 million in guaranteed money in 2000, but instead of paying him they worked out a deal where he receives $1 million + a year from 2011 through 2035. Financial people have made the point that it actually isn’t a bad deal for the team when you factor in inflation, but it’s still funny….

It’s not crazy at all. If you actually do the financial math, it assumes a 7% interest rate. While we may not earn that much on a savings account right now, it’s not a particularly crazy rate of return over a 35 year span.

It seems crazy to pay him $1MM a year for 25 years instead of $6MM up front, but that last $1MM payment in 2035 will only be worth $78,900 in 2000 dollars (assuming this 7% rate of return is what they agreed upon).

This is probably a non issue. They more than likely purchased a deferred annuity from an insurance company back in 2000 when interest rates were much higher, and it probably costs LESS than the $6M they owed him. Otherwise there would have been no reason to agree to this type of arraingement. As things turned out for Bobby, given today’s low rate invironment, and the “lost” decade in the stock market after the tech bubble, agreeing to this deal looks very smart now.

Agreed. Considering the number of athletes who end up bankrupt a few years after retiring, Bobby made a wise choice, locking in a 7% rate of return for 35 years that will guarantee him a good income for a long, long time.

He gets a good return on a $6MM investment, and the Mets probably came close to breaking even on the transaction by buying an annuity or some other financial arragnement as you said.

Boy oh boy do I hope K-Rod’s option does not vest. Not that he isn’t an effective pitcher(but boy were there stretches where he wasn’t, a few of them) just that no reliever should be getting 17.5 million a year and he’s a joke off the field and in New York that’s just trouble.

Why would you put that stipulation in the contract anyway? As I recall, K-Rod was not getting the top dollar offers he and his agent thought he would in that off season. I really don’t see any logical reasoning behind that 17.5m option. He would have been happy to sign even if that vesting option was not in the contract, given the scarcity of other offers on the table.

The thought behind K-Rod’s contract was that it was an inducement for him to sign, and a situation that would not take place. Keep in mind that the option is for games finished. The Mets, at the time thought that they had the team that would not need him making that many appearences in the season.
This seems to have really backfired on them, especially when you consider that
K-Rod had 46 games finished last year before the incident with his girlfriends father. The Mets have no intention of letting him get to the vesting trigger, especially with their current money concerns. It could get real ugly if Rodriguez feels that he’s being held out of games in order not to pay him.
This should be real interesting!

considering that k-rod was coming off an absolutely insane year with the angels…and he was initially looking for 17 mil a year…he basically gave the mets a discounted rate. In return the mets gave him an option year at the rate he was looking for initially PER YEAR.

I think Werth would have been better off not trying to disguise his real intentions. At least Burnett admitted that money was an ‘obvious’ factor in him coming to NY. Sounding genuine has its positives.

Personally I don’t agree with CitizenSnips that it necessarily means he is in it for the money, I would absolutely have taken the National’s offer if I were in Werth’s position (who wouldn’t honestly?) But you have to admit that saying he did it partly to help other players is a little bit silly; he didn’t need to make any excuses, but if he did, that was a pretty lame one.

You expected the Phils’ to match the Nationals’ offer? It’s not like the didn’t offer him a fair deal. What was it, three years, $48 million? He just turned it down to accept that ridiculous offer from the Nats’. I’m not faulting him for that.

I fault him for talking to the media like the Phillies low-balled him. They made him a fair offer in line with the one Boston made. That Nats’ offer was just absurd. Why tell the media that he felt the Phils’ were “going in the wrong direction,” when everyone in baseball knows that he signed with the Nats’ for the money?

That’s crazy. Werth had one successful year under his belt after many years of sub-par performances and injuries. He was never worth a five year contract and still isn’t worth more than five years.

As for the Phils’ lineup, why don’t we see what they can actually do first? How do you know who’s available at the deadline when you don’t even know who’s a contender yet? I personally don’t think they need two right handed bats. They’re definitely left handed heavy, but they’ll be okay.

See there is no way that he is worth 134 million over 7 years. Evere hit .300? No. Ever drove in 100 RBI’S? No. I mean don’t get me wrong I liked Werth when he was in Philly but to say what he said was just stupid. Sad excuse.